


Apocalypse Dreams

by demogorgons



Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Pacific Rim Fusion, Canon-Typical Violence, Fluff, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-11
Updated: 2017-05-11
Packaged: 2018-10-30 17:42:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10881765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/demogorgons/pseuds/demogorgons
Summary: Arthur and Eames' first Drift. Pacific Rim AU





	Apocalypse Dreams

**Author's Note:**

  * For [solutionforreality](https://archiveofourown.org/users/solutionforreality/gifts).



> This is a ficlet that was originally part of a larger story mapping Inception characters into Pacific Rim Universe, an incredibly belated gift for solutionforreality. It pulls a lot from the universe established in the graphic novel prequel to Pacific Rim. Please forgive formatting errors, I'm new here.

     Arthur felt vaguely nervous. He was always on edge these days- the oncoming apocalypse weighed on everyone. But today was the first day he stepped into a Jaeger after three years. At least he felt confident beside Eames. It felt nothing at all like the pressure he felt in the Conn Pod with Cobb, a pressure that grew to be crushing in the battlefield. He knew the Mal he’d encounter in the Drift would not be the shade warped by grief that Cobb kept chasing down the rabbit hole.

       An alarm sounded in Forge Point’s Conn Pod. “Neural Bridge initializing,” a mechanized voice informed them. Arthur took a deep breath and welcomed the surreal feeling of being both submerged and airborne at the same time as the blue universe of the Drift pulsed around them.

_Arthur, a child, playing in the yard with his neighbors._

_Eames, fourteen years old, in costume and on stage at the community theatre._

_Euphoria at getting his college acceptance letter in the mail and knowing he made it into one of the finest undergrad architecture programs in the country on scholarship._

_Eames on his first mission with the SAS._

_A rush of fear, and horrible guilt on Arthur’s part as Trespasser makes landfall, watching on the news as his entire neighborhood is obliterated if not by the Kaiju then by the nuclear strike that takes the monster down._

_Arthur signing up for the Jaeger program, slaving over his work. Wonder at the living legend of the Cobbs. Frustration over not finding any Drift-compatible partners. Mal’s explanation of Drifting – broken down into halves of a whole, but forged into something brighter._

_The first time Eames killed someone, on mission in Mombasa. Quiet carnage compared to the theatrical spectacle Kaijus made when they made landfall._

 Arthur jerked violently in the motion rig as he recoiled at the memory. Warnings flashed as the neural handshake wavered.

 "Oh, shit! Arthur, I'm sorry," Eames spoke gently, warily. "I should've warned you."

"I'm fine," Arthur bit back. He took a deep breath and let it out through his clenched teeth. Eames didn't need to be in his head to know that was a lie. "I'll…I'll be alright," he amended, truthful.

_Mal’s fall, the funeral that followed after they’d recovered her body. Saito’s retirement from active field duty as his tour in Proclus Blue, assuming the role of Marshal of the LA Shatterdome._

         After they'd gone through the motions and the Forge Point powered down, Arthur stepped out of the motion rig and knelt down, feeling nauseous. They were told in training that nausea was not uncommon after first Drifts, and watching someone die for the first time - from the perspective of the person who killed them- hadn't helped matters. Eames, still catching his breath, sat beside him.

“Well,” Eames spoke finally, after their breathing evened out, “that went well.”

“It did,” Arthur agreed. A thought struck him. “Some of what I saw…that was classified. I’m not going to have to be debriefed or anything, am I?”

His co-pilot shrugged. “I have no idea. I’m not sure the bigwigs in London have thought that through. They might not want it recorded, though,” he replied, casting a thoughtful glance at the white box that housed the device responsible for recording and analyzing all Drifts.

Arthur snorted. “It’s bulletproof, not that you’d survive Saito’s wrath if you tried.”

Eames raised an eyebrow. “Why’d they bother to make it bulletproof? Do they expect the Category 4 Kaijus to be packing heat?”

“Maybe Yusuf predicted that a certain former-SAS-turned-Ranger might want to destroy remaining evidence of embarrassing childhood memories,” the young Ranger veteran said with a smirk. “You _would_ be cast as the boy who never grows up. Were you really wearing tights on stage?”

Eames scoffed. “I was Peter Pan! I did what the role required! The _title role_ , mind you!” He teased. “And there may be some truth to that. Yusuf is the only other person who knows about that particular experience.”

“He never said anything.” Arthur said, sounding vaguely put out. Eames figured Arthur may have been excited to hold something over him that very few people would have known.

Eames sent him a devilish smirk, “Of course not. Yusuf was cast as Nana. The poor sod couldn’t reveal my secret without risking his own.” Both of them were grinning now. “What, were you jealous, Arthur _Darling_?” he teased further.

Arthur shoved him lightly as he stood. “You are _not_ implying that I am Wendy.”

“Heavens no,” Eames looked mock-affronted as he stood up as well, following Arthur out of the pod. “She spends most of the time in her nightie. You’re much better dressed.” 


End file.
